Residents need to clear fire hydrants: City of St. John's

The City of St. John's has renewed its call for residents to aid local crews in an effort to uncover fire hydrants buried in snow.

City of St. John's logo. — File Image

In a news release, the city said that while its staff have been removing snow from as many fire hydrants as possible, help from the public is necessary in order to reach all 3,200 hydrants within St. John's.

St. John's Mayor Dennis O'Keefe made this point on Sunday when he spoke with The Telegram about the need to clear drains and fire hydrants.

“I know they're buried under mountains of snow, but in a given neighbourhood if you know where the fire hydrant is and the (drain), then as neighbours and friends, clean it out,” he said Sunday. “You're helping the city, you're helping yourselves, you're helping the community. We can't do it alone. If we're going to get through it, we need everybody to help out.”

Above-freezing temperatures and rain in St. John's on Tuesday have caused snowbanks to melt, creating large puddles of water in some areas. There are concerns this weather may cause homes to flood.

In its news release, the city called recent snowfall accumulation in recent weeks “unprecedented,” though total snowfall for December did fall below the record-setting pace for the 2000-01 winter where St. John's experienced almost 650 centimetres of snow.

The latest snowfall that started late Friday afternoon and continued into Saturday saw almost 40 centimetres fall on St. John's.

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Dee

January 07, 2014 - 17:04

The mayor now wants us to do their work by clearing fire hydrants ,Mackey did very little to have the city streets cleared during the holidays,we had to struggle to get though the streets,we had to break our backs to keep our cars shoveled and our steps shoveled,now they want us to shovel hydrants under ten feet of snow and ice,because they dont want to pay overtime,city counsel crowd making $25.00-$30.00 an hour now you want me to do their work.Think again Mr Mayor..

HBG

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